A detailed look at the game of Dungeons & Dragons and all things related

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

“I am fire…I am death!"

Dragons.

Well
they are a tricky subject aren’t they? From the tales of Beowulf (PDF version here) to the modern CGI
Smaug, Dragons have captured the imagination for hundreds of years. Some DMs
like to have at least one in every campaign, some players don’t feel as though
they’ve really played the game unless they get to fight one, and others still
won’t touch them at all, despite being 50% of the title track. In this article,
we’ll take a closer look at these magnificent and intimidating icons.

Part 1: History

The
original designers of D&D were Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and both men
drew heavily from the popular works of fantasy fiction available to them during
the 1960’s. Works from such authors as: Jack Vance (Wiki), Poul Anderson (Wiki), and a
newfound popularity for more traditional reading such as the Arthur Legend,
Beowulf, and the works of Lewis Carroll (For more info...). Interestingly enough, Gygax stated in
an interview by Dragon Magazine that D&D was influenced very little by
J.R.R. Tolkien. He admitted that certain elements from his books were added to
the game but only for “popularity”. (DRAGON #95) Of course this may have just been a conscious effort
to stave off copyright issues.

So, if
we look at Dragons in particular, Beowulf seems to have some of the best references
for what would become a typical D&D Dragon:

“The
Beowulf dragon is the earliest example in literature of the typical European
dragon and first incidence of a fire breathing dragon.[9] But the
characterization goes beyond fire breathing: the Beowulf dragon is described
with Old English terms such as draca (dragon), and wyrm (worm, or serpent), and
as a creature with a venomous bite.[10] Also, the Beowulf poet created a dragon
with specific traits: a nocturnal, treasure hoarding, inquisitive, vengeful,
fire breathing creature.”

-Wikipedia

So, when
it did come time to create an original creature for AD&D, the designers
went for some basic archetypes. Dragons were large, intelligent reptiles with wings
and breath weapons. And, for the sake of variety and possibly to sell more miniatures,
Dragons were given multiple colors with different personalities and attacks to
match. The original colors were white, black, green, blue, red, and gold. Very
few were considered to be of good alignment, most were considered neutral, and
some downright evil.

As the
game evolved into 2nd and 3rd edition, dragons became much
more versatile and numerous. So much so that by 4th edition there were
more than twenty different types of Dragons and their personalities were as
varied as imaginable.

Part 2: Roleplaying An Icon (For the
DMs)

When compared
to your average PC or NPC, Dragons are supposed to be on an entirely different
level. Cunning, devious, masterminds with size, strength, magic, and fighting
ability rolled into one impressive and almost god like package. Think of Superman’s
body with Batman’s mind. This can be daunting for DMs. After all, and I don’t
think I’m divulging any huge secret here, most DMs are not super geniuses. However,
particular planning, excellent execution, and inspired improvisation can make
for a very impressive substitute. When I think ahead to an encounter my PCs are
going to have with a Dragon, I try to keep three things in mind:

a)Make the encounter worth something.
Dragons should not be thrown in on a whim or as a vehicle for “Deus Ex Machina”.
It cheapens the affect Dragons should have on PCs and it smacks of laziness.

b)Keep conversations with Dragons
short yet memorable. I’m thinking of quality over quantity. When a Dragon
speaks it never wastes any of its words. Also, the longer a DM drags the
encounter with a Dragon out the more opportunity there is to make them look
silly/dull.

c)When a Dragon makes a threat or a
promise, it keeps it. PCs have to learn, some of them the hard way, that to
insult, offend, or deceive a Dragon has very grave consequences. If ever there
was an excuse to make an example out of someone, this type of encounter would
be it.

I also
find that the most important aspect of encountering a Dragon, or any epic
creature for that matter, is the buildup to the encounter. While it can be a supreme shock for
the PCs to encounter a Dragon without any warning, telling them outright that a
Dragon exists in this campaign and you are most likely to encounter it will heighten
the anticipation. Throw in some references, maybe a survivor of a previous
encounter, or a story told by the hearth of an inn. The PCs will do most of the
building-up work for you, all you have to do is deliver.

Part 3: To Slay or Not to Slay (For the PCs)

Going
head to head against a Dragon can be the most exciting, terrifying, and
important encounter in all of D&D. You just get a sense when fighting this
epic creature that death is right around the corner. Even those who have played
this game for decades dare not slouch when a Great Wyrm is present.

Stealth
is always tried but usually fails; Traps are sometimes set but have little success;
and diplomacy is often attempted but you are dealing with a creature who thinks
of the world as a giant chess match and is planning three moves ahead of you. Intimidation
is totally out of the question. This leaves you with three fundamental options:
Fight, Flight, or Surrender. The option that your group chooses will say a lot
about them and the outcome of the campaign.

The
group that chooses to fight may think very highly of themselves and feel as
though this beast is an affront to everything they stand for. Perhaps this
Dragon is pure evil and has done things to inspire the group to rid the world of a flying horror. The group that chooses to flee have doubts concerning their
abilities or simply value their lives over the potential rewards. Words such as
“maybe when we’re higher level” might get thrown about. And finally, the group
that surrenders may be the bravest of all. To submit themselves to the will of
such an infamous beast could spell their doom or it could be the beginning of a
spectacular adventure. This option was explored thoroughly in the writings of
R.A. Salvatore during the Promise of the
Witch-King (Wiki).

However
you play or run an encounter with a Dragon, I hope that everyone ups their game
a little. Moments and memories playing this game can last a lifetime if the feeling
is powerful enough, and Dragons are certainly a very good foundation.

Have you
had a memorable encounter with a Dragon as either a player or a DM? Feel free
to comment about it below!